murmurTaishi Eshiki (Otaishi-san) at Kakurinji
Kakogawa City · Kakurinji Temple (main hall, Taishido hall and the Gyojado courtyard)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Kakurinji Temple · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Mar 20–22, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually late March
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Three days around the spring equinox, usually built around a weekend or holiday
- Venue
- Kakurinji Temple (main hall, Taishido hall and the Gyojado courtyard)
- City
- Kakogawa City, Hyogo
About
Known locally as Otaishi-san, this is the biggest event of the year at Kakurinji temple in Kakogawa, held for three days around the spring equinox, mostly on weekends and holidays, with free admission to the temple throughout. On the last day, mountain ascetics from the area gather for a large outdoor fire ritual, praying for world peace and for people's wishes to come true, and afterward visitors can join in walking barefoot across a path of still-smoldering wood. The same day also brings a reading of all 600 volumes of the Great Wisdom Sutra in a distinctive style. The middle day is a memorial service for Prince Shotoku on the anniversary of his death, and the first day a spring higan service for ancestors. Food stalls fill the grounds. It is an 8-minute Kako Bus ride or about a 25-minute walk from JR Kakogawa Station.
Sources
- OfficialKakurinji Temple www.kakurinji.or.jp
- OfficialKakurinji Temple www.kakurinji.or.jp
Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.